His own received Him not!

People wrote letters to communicate in times past. It was way before WAP, social media, and email drastically changed the way we communicate. People exchanged their thoughts and feelings through letters. During such a time, a young man fell in love with a young woman.  Since he was working in a place far away, he chose to express his love through letters.  In one year,  it seems, he wrote 700 letters!  Finally, the day of his travel to his home town came, and so he wrote another letter and proposed marriage to her.  He wrote that by then she should make her decision!  Finally, the day arrived, and he came to see her with a ring in hand and great expectation in his heart. But he was shocked to hear her decision for the girl had finally decided to marry the postman! The story may be funny, but it explains one point.

"Jesus came to His own, and His own received Him not," says the Bible in John 1:11. The scribes were students of the Old Testament Scriptures. They were Bible scholars. They knew all the prophecies regarding the birth of Jesus. They knew Micah 5:2, but they lacked the faith to receive Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Even today, that is the condition of many. Some read the Bible, go to church but do not come to Jesus to worship Him. They do not come to Jesus with repentance. They do not come to Jesus and surrender themselves completely.  And they miss the blessing.  The Bible says, "But as many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" (John 1:12).  Those who received Him and believed in Him, became sons and daughters!  What a loss to those who do not accept Jesus, the King of Kings!

My friend, do not be carried away by the outward signs of religion. Being a Christian in name only has no meaning.  God sees the heart and every attitude of the heart. Nothing is hidden from Him.  Unless we receive Him into our hearts as our Lord and Saviour, we will miss the opportunity of becoming sons and daughters of a King. As we remember His birth, let us surrender our lives to Jesus so that we can be ready for His second coming!

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